Iris. Reb Fountain

With 'Reb Fountain' Reb Fountain entered my life circa half a year after the release of her album in 2020. She made a tremendous impression with her voice, her music and obvious presence. I still play the album regularly, where most others slowly fade away in my collective musical memory.

So I was very surprised that Flying Nun Records started to release new singles from early summer onwards, announcing a new album for the early fall. Iris is upon us and I can only state, totally in awe, that I'm enthralled by Reb Fountain's new album. It is an album Julius Caesar would have been proud of, as if ever there was an album that followed an extremely successful album and went up and over or 'veni, vidi, vici', to remain in Caesar's language and terminology, it is 'Iris'.

What remained, is the atmosphere that I dare to call the Reb Fountain vibe by now. But, I may hear some people say, doesn't the mood on Iris, at least partly, owe a lot to Lana del Rey? Yes, I'll grant a song like 'Foxbright' certainly. But, just listen what happens next in the song (and on the album). Reb Fountain lays so much more depth into her songs, so much more variation and can do so much more with her voice. It has so many different textures that no song is the same, at times even sections within her songs are not the same.

There is nothing not to love on Iris. Things are this simple to me. This singer is able to create giant effects with minimalist notes or nuances in her voice. Let a drum gain force, a few piano notes, a change in her voice, from mature crooner to girlish or just a little higher. It is enough to set a song on fire, while the overall mood will always be laidback. Whether a ballad, a subdued but definitely modern dance rhythm underneath a slow song or modern folk tinted, each and every of the ten songs on Iris is 100% convincing.

Reb Fountain is a singer from New Zealand's south island, from a remote spot on this earth. I only got across her because of a newsletter from a record store in Auckland, Flying Nun, where most likely I will never set a foot in, running a more or less obscure record label, for the rest of the world that is, Flying Nun Records. That newsletter contains a number of fantastic tips on New Zealand artists and bands. I am quite happy to write on their artists every once in a while.

With Iris a new records sees the light of day. Where the album will end later this year, I can't tell yet, but rest assured, it is slated as a potential number 1. It is not easy to surprise me with a follow up record. This is different than asking me do you like the new record (a lot)? I was surprised in several ways by Iris, just like 'Reb Fountain' surprised me. Now I have two Reb Fountain albums that I will keep playing for a while. My world has been enriched, once again, a little and I thank her for this.

Wout de Natris